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He answered me: "You have said some things correctly, and according to your words it will be done.
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Indeed, I won't think about the formation of sinners or their death or judgment or damnation,
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but I will rejoice over the creation of the righteous, their journey also, and their deliverance and receipt of a reward.
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As I've said, then so it is.
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Just as a farmer sows many seeds on the land, but in time not all seeds that are sown will be saved nor will all the planted things take root, so also not all of those who are sown in the world will be saved."
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I answered: "If I have found favor with you, let me speak,
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because the farmer's seed doesn't grow up, perhaps because it didn't receive your rain in season; or if it was spoiled by abundance of rain, it perishes.
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But human beings, who are shaped by your hands and named in your image, because they are made in your likeness, for whom you created all things—have you compared them to a farmer's seeds?
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No, Lord above us, but spare your people and have mercy on your inheritance, for you have mercy on your own creation."
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He answered me: "The present things are for those who now are, and the future things for the future.
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You are a long way from loving my creation more than I do. But you have often associated yourself with the wicked. Never do so!