The Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

³ The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

⁴ The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of water, and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of water say,

⁷ And I heard the altar cry,

The Fate of the Ungodly

¹⁷ Then I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, behold, thou hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish. ¹⁸ The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones.”

¹⁹ And he said to me, “You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High! ²⁰ Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be disregarded! ²¹ For God strictly commanded those who came into the world, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment. ²² Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against him;

Only a Few Will Be Saved

⁴⁵ I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, I said then and I say now:^[a] Blessed are those who are alive and keep thy commandments! ⁴⁶ But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed thy covenant? ⁴⁷ And now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many. ⁴⁸ For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated us from God,^[b] and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death, and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life—and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!”

⁴⁹ He answered me and said, “Listen to me, Ezra,^[c] and I will instruct you, and will admonish you yet again. ⁵⁰ For this reason the Most High has made not one world but two. ⁵¹ For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this.

⁵² “If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to them lead and clay?”^[d]

⁵³ I said, “Lord, how could that be?”

⁵⁴ And he said to me, “Not only that, but ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you. ⁵⁵ Say to her, ‘You produce gold and silver and brass, and also iron and lead and clay; ⁵⁶ but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.’ ⁵⁷ Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare?”

⁵⁸ I said, “O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less worth, for what is more rare is more precious.”

⁵⁹ He answered me and said, “Weigh within yourself^[e] what you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he who has what is plentiful. ⁶⁰ So also will be the judgment^[f] which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored. ⁶¹ And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke—they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished.”

Lamentation of Ezra, with Response

⁶² I replied and said, “O earth, what have you brought forth, if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things! ⁶³ For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it. ⁶⁴ But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented, because we perish and know it. ⁶⁵ Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts and the flocks rejoice! ⁶⁶ For it is much better with them than with us; for they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation promised to them after death. ⁶⁷ For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive but cruelly tormented? ⁶⁸ For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions. ⁶⁹ And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps it would have been better for us.”

⁷⁰ He answered me and said, “When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment. ⁷¹ And now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us. ⁷² For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity, and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received. ⁷³ What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times? ⁷⁴ For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of the times which he has foreordained!”