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And he said to me, "At the beginning of the circle of the earth, before the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled winds blew,
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and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were laid,
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and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of movement were established, and before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered together,
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and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of Zion was established,
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and before the present years were reckoned; and before the imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who stored up treasures of faith were sealed --
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then I planned these things, and they were made through me and not through another, just as the end shall come through me and not through another."
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And I answered and said, "What will be the dividing of the times? Or when will be the end of the first age and the beginning of the age that follows?"
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He said to me, "From Abraham to Isaac, because from him were born Jacob and Esau, for Jacob's hand held Esau's heel from the beginning.
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For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the age that follows.