Descending Generations

Then I said, “But, Lord God, your concern is with the people who will be alive at the end of the world. What will happen to those who live before that time? What about us? What about those who came before us, and those who will live after us?”

He answered me, “The final judgment can be compared to a circle, and just as a circle has no beginning or end, so those who come early will not be too early, and those who come late will not be too late.”

I replied, “But couldn’t you have created all human beings, those of the past, the present, and the future, so that they would all live at the same time? In that way, you could have had your final judgment sooner.”

He answered, “The creation cannot move faster than the Creator. And besides, the world wouldn’t have been able to hold all the people if everyone had been created at the same time.”

“Why, then,” I asked, “did you just now tell me that one day you would bring back to life at the same time every creature that ever lived? If the world can hold them all then, it can hold them now.”

He answered, “That would be like asking a woman who has given birth to ten children why she didn’t have them all at once, instead of one at a time.”

“That would be impossible,” I answered. “She can’t have them all at once.”

“In the same way,” he continued, “I have made the world like a womb so that it produces human beings at regular intervals. The rule that neither a young child nor an old woman can give birth to a baby also applies to the world that I have created.”

Then I said, “Since you have brought up the subject, may I ask if the world you have been talking about is still young or is it approaching old age?”

He replied, “You can learn the answer from any woman who has given birth to several children. Ask her why her younger children do not grow as tall as her older children. She will tell you that those born while she was young and healthy are much stronger than those born when she was getting old and becoming weak. You will notice that you are smaller than people of earlier generations; those who come later will be smaller still. This shows you that creation is already getting old and losing the strength of her youth.”

God Will Bring the End of the World

“If you please, Lord,” I asked, “will you show me the one through whom you will bring judgment on your creation?”

He said to me, “I made this decision before I created the world: before the gates of the world were standing; before the winds were brought together to blow, or the lightning flashed, or the thunder rolled; before the foundations of Paradise were laid, or the beautiful flowers appeared; before the powers that move the stars were established, or the armies of angels assembled; before the air was piled up high, or the divisions of the heavens given their names; before I chose Mount Zion as my footstool; before the present age was planned, or the scheming of its sinners was rejected, or my seal was placed on those who obeyed the Law and laid up a treasure of faithfulness. Even then, I decided that since I, and I alone, had created the world, I, and I alone, would bring it to an end.”

Then I asked, “How long a period of time will divide the ages? When will the first age end and the next age begin?”

He answered, “The interval will be no longer than that between Abraham and Abraham. He was the grandfather of both Jacob and Esau, and when they were born, Jacob was holding Esau’s heel. Esau represents the end of this age, and Jacob represents the beginning of the new age. So, if Jacob’s hand is the beginning and Esau’s heel is the end, do not try to find a space in between.”

The Signs of the End

“Lord and Master,” I said, “please hear my request. On that earlier night you showed me some of the signs of the end; now please show me the rest.”

“Stand up,” he said, “and you will hear a very loud voice. If the place where you are standing is violently shaken while the voice is speaking, don’t be afraid. The message will be about the end of the world, and the foundations of the world will understand that the voice is speaking about them. They will tremble and quake because they know that they will undergo a change when the end comes.”

When he said this, I stood up and listened. I heard a voice that sounded like a roaring river. It said, “The time is near when I will come to judge the people living on the earth. I will punish those who have hurt others with their injustice. Jerusalem’s humiliation will come to an end, and this age which is about to pass away will have the final seal put on it. Then I will give the following signs: the books will be opened across the sky for all to see. Children only a year old will speak. Pregnant women will give birth after only three or four months, and their premature babies will live and run about. Planted fields will suddenly become bare, and full barns will suddenly become empty. Then the trumpet will sound, and sudden terror will grip the heart of everyone when he hears it. Friends will fight like enemies, and the earth and its people will be terrified. Rivers will stop flowing and stand still for three hours.

“Those who survive all these things that I have predicted will be rescued when I bring to an end this world that I created. They will see the men who never died but were taken up alive into heaven. The hearts and minds of people on earth will be changed. Evil will be destroyed and deceit eliminated. Faith will grow strong, corruption will be overcome, and truth, which has not produced fruit for so long, will make itself felt again.”

While the voice was speaking, the ground beneath me began to rock back and fourth. Then the angel said to me, “These are the things that I have come to show you tonight. Now if you will pray and fast for seven more days, I will come back and tell you even greater things, because God Most High has heard your prayer; the mighty God has seen the pure and righteous life that you have lived since your youth. That is why he has sent me to show you all these things and to tell you not to be afraid but to trust him. Do not be so quick to raise useless questions in the present age; then you will not be so quick to do so in the final age.”