THE THIRD VISION

Why God’s People Suffer

After that, I mourned and fasted for seven more days, as I had done before, and so I completed the three weeks of fasting that I had been commanded to observe. On the eighth night I was again deeply troubled, and I began to speak to God Most High. I was very tense and my heart was uneasy, but I said, “O Lord, at the beginning of creation you spoke the word. On the first day you commanded, ‘Let the universe be made,’ and your word carried out that command. At that time the spirit was moving, darkness and silence were everywhere, and no human voice was yet heard. Then you commanded that a ray of light shine out of the room where it was stored, so that your works could be seen. On the second day you created the angel of the sky and commanded him to separate the water, so that part of it would move up above the dome of the sky and part remain below. On the third day you commanded the water that covered the earth to come together in one place and cover one-seventh of the earth’s surface. Then you dried out the rest of the earth’s surface to make dry land, so that it might be cultivated and planted and used in your service. Your word went out and completed the work immediately. In an instant all kinds of fruits and vegetables appeared, enough kinds to satisfy every taste. There were flowers of indescribable fragrances and of the most magnificent colors. These things were made on the third day. On the fourth day the bright-shining sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars were created by your command. You commanded them to serve the human race, which would soon be created. On the fifth day you commanded the part of the earth covered by water to produce birds and fish; and it was done. At your command, the still and lifeless water brought forth living creatures, so that the nations might proclaim your wonderful works. Then you singled out two of the living creatures; you named one of them Behemoth and the other Leviathan. You separated them from each other because the sea wasn’t big enough to hold them both. You let Behemoth live on a part of the land that you dried up on the third day of creation; it is a land of a thousand mountains. You let Leviathan live in the sea. You kept them both alive, so that your chosen people may feast on them at the time you choose. On the sixth day you commanded the earth to produce the animals, domestic and wild, large and small. More important than all of these, you created Adam and put him in charge of everything that you had made. And all of us, the people you have chosen, are descended from him.

“O Lord, I have told you all this because you said that you created this first world for the sake of your people. You said that, in spite of their great numbers, all the other nations which descended from Adam are nothing, worth no more than a drop of water, no more than spit. But now, Lord, those nations that are considered as nothing are ruling over us and destroying us. We are your people, and you have called us your first-born, your only son, your witness, your loved one, but we have been handed over to the power of these other nations. If this world was really created for the sake of your people, why don’t we have possession of it? How much longer must we wait?”

When I had finished speaking, the same angel that had been sent to me on the earlier nights appeared again. He said, “Stand up, Ezra, and listen to what I have come to tell you.”

“Go ahead, sir,” I said.

He continued, “Picture in your mind a broad, immense sea spreading over a vast area, but with an entrance no wider than a river. No one who wishes to enter that sea, whether to visit it or control it, can reach its broad expanse of water without passing through the narrow entrance. Or take another example: Picture a city built on a plain. The city is full of all kinds of good things, but the entrance to it is narrow and steep, with fire on one side and deep water on the other. The one path between the fire and the water is so narrow that only one person at a time may walk on it. If anyone inherits this city, he cannot take possession of his inheritance without passing through this dangerous entrance.”

“That is right, sir,” I said.

“That is how it is with the people of Israel,” he added. “I made this world for their sake, but when Adam broke my commands, the world came under my judgment. Then the entrances into this world were made narrow and difficult to travel. They were rough, dangerous, and few in number. But the entrances to the great world to come are wide and safe and lead to immortality. Everyone who lives must walk the narrow and meaningless ways of this world in order to receive the blessings stored up in the world to come. So, Ezra, why are you upset and disturbed by the thought that you are mortal and must die? Why don’t you think about the age to come, rather than the present age?

I answered, “Lord and master, in your Law you said that the righteous would receive all these blessings, but that the wicked would perish. The righteous then can endure all the difficulties of this narrow way because they look forward to the broad and open life of the future, but the wicked must pass through the narrow way without any hope of seeing the broad open life.”

The angel replied, “Do you think you are a better judge than God? Do you think you are wiser than God Most High? It is better to let many people of the present age perish than to allow them to neglect the Law that God has given them. God had given clear commandments to everyone coming into this world, telling them what they should do to obtain life and to avoid punishment. But the wicked would not listen and refused to obey him. In their foolishness they have made their own wicked and deceitful plans. They denied the existence of God Most High and refused to follow his ways. They have rejected his Law refused to accept his promises, disobeyed his decrees, and failed to do what he commanded. That’s the reason, Ezra, that there is emptiness for the empty and fullness for the full.”

The Messianic Kingdom and the Final Judgment

The time is coming when these signs will take place. The invisible city will appear, and the land that is now hidden will be seen. Everyone who survives the calamities I have predicted will also see the wonderful things I will do. My son the Messiah will be revealed, together with those who come with him. He will bring four hundred years of happiness to all these survivors. At the end of that time, my son the Messiah and all human beings will die. Then the world will return to its original silence, and for seven days it will be like it was at the beginning. No one will be left alive. After seven days this corrupt age will pass out of existence and a new age will be awakened. The ground will give up the dead who sleep there in silence, and the souls of the dead will be released from the places where they have been kept. God Most High will appear on his judgment seat. Mercy and patience will vanish completely and be replaced by judgment. Truth and faithfulness will once again stand firm. The good and bad that people have done will be fully revealed, and reward and punishment will follow immediately. The pit of torment, the fires of hell, will appear, and opposite them the Paradise of joy and rest.

“Then God Most High will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead, ‘Look! I am the one to serve; it is my commands that you have rejected. Look around you; there is joy and peace in one direction, fire and torment in the other.’ That’s what he will say to them on Judgment Day.

“On Judgment Day there will be no sun, moon, or stars; no cloud, thunder, or lightning; no wind, water, or air; no darkness, evening, or morning; no summer, spring, or winter; no heat, frost, or cold; no hail, or dew, no noon, night, or dawn; no daylight, brightness, or light. The only light will be the dazzling brightness of God Most High, making it possible for everyone to see. The judgment will last seven years. That’s the arrangement I have made for Judgment Day, but I have revealed these things only to you.”