2 Esdras 5:41

41 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?"

2 Esdras 5:41 In-Context

39 How can I give you any kind of answer? What do I know?"

40 He continued, "You could not do even one of the things that I asked you to do. How can you expect to understand God's judgments or why God has promised his love to his people?"

41 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?"

42 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."

43 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."