The Finality of Judgment and the Salvation of the Few

Then I said, “Sir, please tell me whether the righteous will be able to ask God Most High to show mercy on the unrighteous on Judgment Day. Will fathers be able to pray for their children, children for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for those near to them, and friends for those dear to them?”

“I will be happy to tell you,” he replied. “Judgment Day is final and sets the final seal on truth for all to see. You know that in this age a father cannot send his son to be sick for him or sleep or eat or be healed for him. An owner cannot send his slave to do these things for him, nor can a person send his best friend. In the same way, on that day, no one will be able to pray for another person. Each person will receive the punishment or reward for his own sinfulness or righteousness.”

“If that is so,” I answered, “how can we explain what we find in the Scriptures? Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our ancestors who sinned in the desert. Later, Joshua prayed for the people of Israel in the time of Achan, and Samuel prayed for them in the days of Saul. David prayed at the time of the epidemic, and Solomon prayed for those who were going to worship in the Temple. Elijah prayed that the people might have rain and for a dead person to come back to life. Hezekiah prayed for the people during the time of Sennacherib. And there are many other examples. If righteous people prayed for the unrighteous during such times when corruption increased and injustice multiplied, why won’t the same thing happen at the Judgment Day?”

“The present age is not the end of everything,” the angel answered. “Even in this age, the glorious presence of God is not always seen. That is why the strong have prayed for the weak during this age. But the Judgment Day will be the end of the present age and the beginning of the future age. Then all corruption will end, self-indulgence and disloyalty will be eliminated. Righteousness and truth will reach their full maturity. So on Judgment Day, no one will be able to have mercy on those who have been condemned, and no one will be able to harm those who have been acquitted.”

I answered, “I made this point before, and I will make it again. It would have been better if the earth had never produced Adam, or when it had done so, if it had made him so that he could not sin. What good is it for any of us to have life in the present age, when it is full of misery and when all we can look forward to after death is punishment? O Adam, what have you done? Your sin was not only your own downfall; it was also the downfall of all of us who are your descendants. What good is it to us that we have the promise of immortal life, when we have committed sins that condemn us to death? What good is the hope of eternity, when we find our selves in such a completely hopeless situation? What good is it that safe and secure homes have been prepared for us in the future world, when we have lived such wicked lives? What good is the promise that the glorious presence of God Most High will protect those who have lived pure lives, when our own lives have been so full of sin? What good is it that paradise is shown to us, that its imperishable fruit can heal us and provide all we need? We can never go there because we have lived unacceptable lives. What good is it that the faces of those who practice self-control will shine more brightly than the stars, when our own faces will be blacker than the night? Never in our whole lives, when we sinned, did we think about what we would have to suffer after death.”

The angel replied, “Here is the meaning of the conflict that every person on earth must endure: If he is defeated, he must suffer the things you have just told me about, but if he is victorious, he will receive the rewards that I have just mentioned. That is why Moses long ago urged the people to choose life so that they might live. But they did not believe him or the prophets who came after him, and they did not believe me when I spoke to them. So the sadness over their destruction is nothing compared to the great joy over the salvation of those who believe.”

I answered, “Sir, I know that God Most High is spoken of as merciful because he shows mercy to those who have not yet entered this world. He is called compassionate because he shows compassion to those who repent and obey his Law. He is thought of as patient because he is patient with his own creatures who have sinned. He is known as generous because he prefers to give rather than to demand. And he is known as very forgiving because he continues to forgive sinners of the past, present, and future. If he did not continue to forgive, there would be no life for this world or the people in it. He is spoken of as pardoning because, if it were not for his goodness in pardoning sinners, not one person in ten thousand would gain life. He is called judge because he pardons and blots out the many sins of those who were created by his word. If he did not, only a handful of the whole human race would be left.”

The angel replied, “God Most High made this world for many people, but the future world for only a few. Ezra, let me give you an illustration. If you ask the earth, it will tell you that it produces a large amount of clay for pots but only a small amount of gold dust. And that’s the way it is with the present world: many have been created, but only a few will be saved.”