before the event, like any prophecy, so that the event can be seen to be the vindication of it, of those who express it, and of the one in whom they hope. The second remark is in superficial tension with the first, for it speaks of the possibility of not being rescued. Their wager affirms that this will not be the confessors’ experience. But it often has been the experience of believers, and for their sake the three heroes make clear that even in that situation they would still maintain their commitment