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. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LORD'S SERVANTS.
"But listen to Me,
you who are the Lord's servants, and take My words to heart…
calamities (1)
will come on the earth without delay, and the world will groan under the pangs
that grip it." (From 2 Esdras
16:35 "When all this begins to happen, stand upright and hold your heads high, because your liberation is near." (Luke 21:28 NEB).
"Listen to My words, My people; get ready for battle, and when the calamities (1)
surround you, be as though you were strangers on
earth. The seller must expect to have to run for his life, the
buyer to lose what he buys; the merchant must expect to make no profit, the
builder never to live in the house he builds. The sower must not expect to reap,
nor the pruner to gather his grapes. Those who marry must expect no children;
the unmarried must think of themselves as widowed.
For all labour is labour in vain. Their fruits will be gathered by
foreigners, who will plunder their goods, pull down their houses, and take their
children captive. If they have children, they will have been bred only for
captivity and famine; any who make money do so only to have it plundered.
The more care they lavish (2)
on their cities, houses, and property, and on their own
persons, the fiercer will be My indignation against their sins, says the Lord."
(2 Esdras 16:40 "God is your Judge: fear Him! Abandon your sins, and have done with your wicked deeds for ever! Then God will set you free from all distress." (2 Esdras 16:67 NEB). "Have no fear of plots against you, and do not be troubled by the unbelief of those who oppose you. For everyone who does not believe will die because of his unbelief." (2 Esdras 15:3 NEB).
"You shall be free from oppression (3)
and have no fears, free from terror, and it shall not come near you; should any
attack you, it will not be My doing, the aggressor, whoever he be, shall perish
for his attempt… no weapon made to harm you shall prevail,
and you shall rebut every charge brought against you. Such is the fortune of the
servants of the Lord; their vindication (4) comes from Me. This is the very word of
the Lord."
(From Isaiah 54:14 "Listen, you whom I have chosen, says the Lord; the days of harsh suffering are close at hand, but I will rescue you from them. Away with your fears and doubts! For God is your leader. You who follow My commandments and instructions, says the Lord God, must not let your sins weigh you down, nor your wicked deeds get the better of you." (2 Esdras 16:74-76 NEB). "Think what sort of people you ought to be, what devout and dedicated lives you should live! Look eagerly for the coming of the Day of God and work to hasten it on." (From 2 Peter 3:11,12 NEB). "Do not imitate wickedness, therefore, and her actions. For in a very short time she will be swept from the earth, and the reign of justice over us will begin." (2 Esdras 16:51,52 NEB).
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