2 Esdras 7:89 (Good News Translation w/ Apocrypha) youtu.be/87fSWbtUx18 Do you wonder what happens after a person die? 78 But to answer your question about death: When God Most High has pronounced the final decree that a person shall die, the soul leaves the body to return to the one who gave it. Immediately it praises the glory of God Most High. 79 Let me explain first about people who had no use for the ways of God Most High and hated those who worshiped him. 80 There is no place where their souls can go for rest; they must wander around forever in torment, grief, and sorrow. Their torment will progress in seven stages. 81 First, they ignore the Law of God Most High .82Second, they can no longer make a sincere repentance and obtain life. 83 Third, they see the reward stored up for those who put their faith in the covenants of God Most High. 84 Fourth, they think about the torment that has been stored up for them in the last days. 85 Fifth, they see angels guarding the homes of other souls in complete silence. 86 Sixth, they recognize that they must soon be tormented. 87 Seventh, and worst of all, when they see the glory of God Most High, they are sick with remorse and shame. They cringe in fear, because while they were living they sinned against him. And now they are about to come before him to be judged on the last day. 88Now let me explain about those who followed the ways of God Most High and what will happen when the time comes for them to leave their mortal bodies. 89 While they lived on earth, through constant difficulty and danger, they served God Most High and carefully kept the Law given by the Lawgiver. 90 This is what they will receive: 91 They will rejoice when they see the great glory of God. He will receive them, and they will enter their rest in seven stages of joy. 92 The first joy is to have struggled hard and won the victory over the evil impulse which was formed in them, but which did not succeed in leading them from life into death. 93 The second is to see the endless wandering of the souls of the wicked and the punishment that is waiting for them. 94 The third is to know what a good report their Maker has given about them, that during their lifetime they kept the Law that was entrusted to them. 95 The fourth is to appreciate the rest that they are to enjoy in the places where they have been brought together, guarded by angels, in complete silence, and with the glory that is waiting for them at the last day. 96 The fifth is to rejoice that they have now escaped the corrupt world and that they will receive the future life as their possession. They can see both the narrow, troubled world from which they have been freed and the spacious world they will receive and enjoy forever. 97 The sixth is to be shown how their faces will shine like the sun and how they are to be like the light of the stars that never die. 98 The seventh joy, and best of all, is when they rush to meet God face-to-face, with perfect trust and happiness, without any fear or shame. They served him during their lifetime and now they will receive from him their reward in glory. 99 These rewards that I have been telling you about are those that have been prepared for the souls of the righteous. I described to you earlier the torment that the rebellious will suffer. 100 Then I asked, When the souls of the righteous are separated from their bodies, will they be given time to see what you have told me about? 101 They will be free for seven days, he answered, and during that time they will be able to see the things I have told you about. After that they will be brought together with the other souls in their homes. 102 Then I said, Sir, please tell me whether the righteous will be able to ask God Most High to show mercy on the unrighteous on Judgment Day. 103 Will fathers be able to pray for their children, children for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for those near to them, and friends for those dear to them? 104 I will be happy to tell you, he replied. Judgment Day is final and sets the final seal on truth for all to see. You know that in this age a father cannot send his son to be sick for him or sleep or eat or be healed for him. An owner cannot send his slave to do these things for him, nor can a person send his best friend. 105 In the same way, on that day, no one will be able to pray for another person. Each person will receive the punishment or reward for his own sinfulness or righteousness.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 03:19:03 +0000