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no noon, night, or dawn; no daylight, brightness, or light. The only light will be the dazzling brightness of God Most High, making it possible for everyone to see.
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The judgment will last seven years.
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That's the arrangement I have made for Judgment Day, but I have revealed these things only to you."
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Then I said, "Lord, I repeat what I said earlier: How fortunate are the people who can live now and obey your commands!
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But what about those for whom I have been praying? There is no one in the present generation who has not sinned, no one who has not broken your covenant.
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Now I understand that the world to come will bring joy to only a few, but torment to many.
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The evil impulse within us has grown and it has led us away from God's ways, brought us to ruin, put us on the way to death and destruction, and taken us far from life. It has destroyed not only a few, but almost everyone who was ever created."
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"Listen to me," the angel said, "and I will teach you further and correct your thinking.
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Because only a few will be saved, God created two worlds, instead of only one.
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As you say, only a few people are righteous, but there are large numbers of wicked people. But listen:
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If you had only a few precious stones, would you add lumps of lead and clay to them in order to have more?"
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"Surely no one would do that, sir," I answered.
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"Take another illustration," he continued. "The earth itself will give you an answer if you humbly ask it
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whether it produces more gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, or clay.
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There is more silver than gold, more copper than silver, more iron than copper, more lead than iron, and more clay than lead.
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So judge for yourself which are more desirable and valuable, common things or rare things."
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I answered, "Lord and master, the common things are cheap; it is the rare things that are valuable."
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"All right," he replied, "so draw the logical conclusion: the person who has what is scarce has more reason to be pleased than the person who has what is plentiful.
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It's the same with the judgment that I have promised: I will be pleased with the few who will be saved, because they are the ones who now praise and honor me and make my name known.
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I will not be sad about the large number of people who will be lost, because even now they last no longer than a vapor; they disappear like fire and smoke; they catch fire, blaze up, and quickly go out."
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Then I said to the earth, "Look at what you have done! When you gave birth to the rest of creation you gave birth to reason.