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[Alexandr Korol]

Alexandr: But will it happen as I am describing?
Mystic-Old-Man: It is a model for faith, Alex. It is a model for faith.
Alexandr: Well, fine. And what follows from that? Does the fact that I hold this
model in my head strengthen my faith?
Mystic-Old-Man: Well, Allah didn’t tell Muhammad about that. He just didn’t.
You see, it is still a model for faith.
Alexandr: Uh-huh. But if Allah didn’t tell Muhammad about it, does that mean
— do you mean that Muhammad made it up for himself?
Mystic-Old-Man: I didn’t say it’s even there.
Alexandr: Okay, then differently. Is the sixth seal or the seventh seal
mentioned in the Bible open right now?
Mystic-Old-Man: Oh, it’s something in between. In between.
Alexandr: So they are still not open?
Mystic-Old-Man: No.
Alexandr: But is the sixth already open?
Mystic-Old-Man: Well, Alex, what is encrypted in that... Well, I can’t say that
it is actually that way.
Alexandr: Well, it’s all sacred language.
Mystic-Old-Man: Yes, yes.
Alexandr: Uh-huh. It’s just that there is still some kind of linear time there;
even if parallel events are happening, spread out at different angles, there still
has to be some kind of finale. I’m curious: if we rely on the Revelation of John
the Divine, what percentage of the way are we to the finale? 60 percent? 30? 70?
Mystic-Old-Man: Yes, but the angel didn’t only reveal this to the theologian.
Alexandr: What do you mean?
Mystic-Old-Man: You say the angel revealed this to John the Divine.
Alexandr: No, I mean that the events of the Revelation of John the Divine are
happening now. It’s just interesting because time is linear there in the sense
that there must be a finale. I wonder how close we are: 50 percent, 60, 70.
Mystic-Old-Man: But it’s a constant combination. We approached 70, and it
turns out to be 50. We approached 50, and it turns out to be 70. There is this
strangeness, these combinatorics of return: “we approached completely,
but it turns out, no.” And we approached, and it turns out, on the contrary.