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What excuse can they offer at the judgment? How can they answer at the last day?
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God Most High has been very patient with the people of this world for a long time, but it has not been for their sake. He has done it for the sake of the age to come."
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Then I said, "Sir, may I ask you, please, to explain to me what happens when we die, when each of us must give back our soul? Will we be kept at rest until the time when you begin to make your new creation, or will our torment begin immediately?"
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"I will answer that question also," he replied, "but do not include yourself among those who will be tormented because they have no use for religion.
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After all, you have a treasure of good works stored up with God Most High, which will not be shown to you until the last days.
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But to answer your question about death: When God Most High has pronounced the final decree that a person shall die, the soul leaves the body to return to the one who gave it. Immediately it praises the glory of God Most High.
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Let me explain first about people who had no use for the ways of God Most High and hated those who worshiped him.
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There is no place where their souls can go for rest; they must wander around forever in torment, grief, and sorrow. Their torment will progress in seven stages.
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First, they ignore the Law of God Most High.
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Second, they can no longer make a sincere repentance and obtain life.
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Third, they see the reward stored up for those who put their faith in the covenants of God Most High.
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Fourth, they think about the torment that has been stored up for them in the last days.
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Fifth, they see angels guarding the homes of other souls in complete silence.
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Sixth, they recognize that they must soon be tormented.
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Seventh, and worst of all, when they see the glory of God Most High, they are sick with remorse and shame. They cringe in fear, because while they were living they sinned against him. And now they are about to come before him to be judged on the last day.
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"Now let me explain about those who followed the ways of God Most High and what will happen when the time comes for them to leave their mortal bodies.
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While they lived on earth, through constant difficulty and danger, they served God Most High and carefully kept the Law given by the Lawgiver.
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This is what they will receive:
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They will rejoice when they see the great glory of God. He will receive them, and they will enter their rest in seven stages of joy.
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The first joy is to have struggled hard and won the victory over the evil impulse which was formed in them, but which did not succeed in leading them from life into death.
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The second is to see the endless wandering of the souls of the wicked and the punishment that is waiting for them.
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The third is to know what a good report their Maker has given about them, that during their lifetime they kept the Law that was entrusted to them.
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The fourth is to appreciate the rest that they are to enjoy in the places where they have been brought together, guarded by angels, in complete silence, and with the glory that is waiting for them at the last day.
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The fifth is to rejoice that they have now escaped the corrupt world and that they will receive the future life as their possession. They can see both the narrow, troubled world from which they have been freed and the spacious world they will receive and enjoy forever.
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The sixth is to be shown how their faces will shine like the sun and how they are to be like the light of the stars that never die.
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The seventh joy, and best of all, is when they rush to meet God face-to-face, with perfect trust and happiness, without any fear or shame. They served him during their lifetime and now they will receive from him their reward in glory.
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These rewards that I have been telling you about are those that have been prepared for the souls of the righteous. I described to you earlier the torment that the rebellious will suffer."
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Then I asked, "When the souls of the righteous are separated from their bodies, will they be given time to see what you have told me about?"
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"They will be free for seven days," he answered, "and during that time they will be able to see the things I have told you about. After that they will be brought together with the other souls in their homes."
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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.
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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?"
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"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.
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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."
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"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.
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Later, Joshua prayed for the people of Israel in the time of Achan,
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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.
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Elijah prayed that the people might have rain and for a dead person to come back to life.
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Hezekiah prayed for the people during the time of Sennacherib. And there are many other examples.
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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?"
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"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.
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But the Judgment Day will be the end of the present age and the beginning of the future age. Then all corruption will end,