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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.
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For the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his heel; between the heel and the hand seek for nothing else, Ezra!"
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I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight,
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show thy servant the end of thy signs which thou didst show me in part on a previous night."
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He answered and said to me, "Rise to your feet and you will hear a full, resounding voice.
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And if the place where you are standing is greatly shaken
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while the voice is speaking, do not be terrified; because the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand
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that the speech concerns them. They will tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end must be changed."
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When I heard this, I rose to my feet and listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters.
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And it said, "Behold, the days are coming, and it shall be that when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth,
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and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete,
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and when the seal is placed upon the age which is about to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and all shall see it together.
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Infants a year old shall speak with their voices, and women with child shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and dance.
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Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and full storehouses shall suddenly be found to be empty;