"THE LOST OUTNUMBER THE SAVED AS A WAVE
"The angel replied: 'The seed to be sown depends on the
soil, the colour on the flower, the product on the workman, and the harvest on
the farmer. There was once a time before the world had been created for men to
dwell in; at that time I was planning it for the
sake of those who now exist. No one then disputed My plan, for no one existed. I supplied
this world with unfailing food and a mysterious Law;
but those whom I created
turned to a life of corruption. I looked at My world, and there it lay spoilt,
at My earth in danger from men's wicked thoughts;
and at the sight I could scarcely bring Myself to spare them. One grape I saved
out of a cluster, one tree out of a
forest. So then let it be:
destruction for the many who were born in vain, and salvation for
My
grape and My tree, which have cost Me such labour
to bring to perfection." (2 Esdras 9:17 "In the last days, then, the inhabitants of the world will be punished for their arrogant lives by bitter sufferings. But you, Ezra, should direct your thoughts to yourself and the glory awaiting those like you. For all of you, paradise lies open, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is made ready, and rich abundance is in store; the city is already built, rest from toil is assured, goodness and wisdom are brought to perfection. The root of evil has been sealed off from you; for you there is no more illness, death is abolished, hell has fled, and decay is quite forgotten. All sorrows are at an end, and the treasure of immortality has been finally revealed. Ask no more questions, therefore, about the many who are lost. For they were given freedom and used it to despise the Most High, to treat His Law with contempt and abandon His ways. Yes, and they trampled on His just servants; they said to themselves, "There is no God", though well aware that they must die. Yours, then, will be the joys I have predicted; theirs the thirst and torments which are prepared. It is not that the Most High has wanted any man to be lost, but that those He created have themselves brought dishonour on their Creator's Name, and shown ingratitude to the One who had put life within their reach. My day of Judgement is now close at hand, but I have not made this known to all; only to you and a few like you.'" (2 Esdras 8:50-62 NEB).
"Just as everything that is done on earth has its
beginning and end clearly marked, so it is with the
times which the Most High has determined: their beginning is marked by portents
and miracles, their end by manifestations of power.
'Whoever comes safely through and escapes destruction, thanks to his good deeds
or the faith he has shown, will survive all the dangers I have foretold and
witness the salvation that I shall bring to My land, the country I have marked
out from all eternity as My own. Then those who have misused My Law will be
taken by surprise; their contempt for it will bring them continual torment. All
who in their lifetime failed to acknowledge Me in spite of all the good things I
had given them, all who disdained My Law while freedom still was theirs, who
scornfully dismissed the thought of penitence while the way was still open
It is of paramount importance that mankind learn the truth of their obligations to the Most High and carry them out now, rather than wait and learn the truth through torments after death! (9:12 NEB).
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH. In fulfilment of Revelation 11:13, a tenth of the city was destroyed and 7,000 men were killed in the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985. Another manifestation of the power of the Most High has been the war and ongoing desolation of Babylon/Iraq, where over 100,000 people have been killed so far. We now await the imminent Rule of God when all those who "destroy the earth" shall themselves be destroyed. (Rev 11:18 NEB).
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